(2017). Equity Starts Early: Addressing Racial Inequities in Child Care and Early Education Policy. Center for Law and Social Policy, Inc. (CLASP) Child care and early education policies are shaped by a history of systemic and structural racism. This has created major racial disparities in children's access to quality child care that meets their cultural and linguistic needs and enables their parents to work. Early care and education workers are overwhelmingly in low-quality jobs with inadequate compensation. And workers of color are often relegated to the lowest-paid positions. "Equity Starts Early: Addressing Racial Inequities in Child Care and Early Education Policy" explores these critical racial equity issues in major early childhood programs, policies, and systems, including CCDBG [Child Care and Development Block Grant], Head Start, and state pre-kindergarten programs. It provides demographic and historical context for creating racially equitable early childhood policies and analyzes policy issues related to access, quality, and the early childhood workforce. Finally, the report offers state and federal policy… [PDF]
(2020). Equity in College Physics Student Learning: A Critical Quantitative Intersectionality Investigation. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v57 n1 p33-57 Jan. We investigated the intersectional nature of race/racism and gender/sexism in broad scale inequities in physics student learning using a critical quantitative intersectionality. To provide transparency and create a nuanced picture of learning, we problematized the measurement of equity by using two competing operationalizations of equity: "Equity of Individuality" and "Equality of Learning." These two models led to conflicting conclusions. The analyses used hierarchical linear models to examine students' conceptual learning as measured by gains in scores on research-based assessments administered as pretests and posttests. The data came from the Learning About STEM Student Outcomes' (LASSO) national database and included data from 13,857 students in 187 first-semester college physics courses. Findings showed differences in student gains across gender and race. Large gender differences existed for White and Hispanic students but not for Asian, Black, and Pacific… [Direct]
(2018). Accelerated Christian Education: A Case Study of the Use of Race in Voucher-Funded Private Christian Schools. Journal of Curriculum Studies, v50 n3 p333-351. President Donald Trump has promised an expansion of voucher programs for private schools in the United States. Private Christian schools are likely beneficiaries of such an expansion, but little research has been conducted about the curricula they use or their suitability for public funds. This article describes and critiques the depiction of race in Accelerated Christian Education, a curriculum used in some voucher-funded schools in the United States, as well as in private schools in 140 countries. It employs content analysis and qualitative documentary analysis of the curriculum workbooks, and builds on Christian Smith and Michael Emerson's theoretical framework of white evangelicals' 'cultural toolkit' to explain the ideas about race in the curriculum. The paper finds that in addition to some overt racism, the system promulgates a worldview which does not have the capacity to recognize or oppose systemic injustice. It is argued that such a curriculum is not a suitable recipient of… [Direct]
(2018). Is There a There There? Responding to Mythologies That Hamper Multicultural and Global Education. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v13 n2 Sep. The United States of America is currently experiencing some socio-political problems. These problems stem from myriad mythologies and assumptions that have created labels, categories, stereotypes, and generalizations. While they are not uncommon in many communities and societies all over the world, in the United States, they have exposed intense divisions, xenophobia, racism, White supremacy, and close-mindedness. To a large measure, we now live in fears and anger; and we are literally losing our soul as the greatest democracy in the world. Not surprisingly, our adversary, Russia took advantage of these mythologies to meddle in our 2016 democratic Presidential election. As a result, many are asking, Is there a there there? In this article, I respond to this question by looking into these mythologies. In addition, I suggest ways for educators and leaders to foster multicultural and global education and buttress human valuing and interactions at classroom, school, college/university,… [Direct]
(2019). Reflections of Preservice Teachers of Color: Implications for the Teacher Demographic Diversity Gap. Education Sciences, v9 Article 144. The reproduction of white supremacist culture in schools continues to marginalize Students of Color in a variety of implicit and explicit ways. A diverse teacher workforce not only helps to disrupt the direct effects of racism on Students of Color, but also prepares all students for successful democratic participation in a diverse global society. This article uses a portion of qualitative interview data from undergraduate Preservice Teachers of Color from a dissertation study completed within a College of Education at a minority-serving public university in the southwestern United States. This study adds to the literature on the complex issues that have resulted in our nation's teacher demographic diversity gap. The findings from these data reveal meaningful teacher-student encounters that eight successful Preservice Teachers of Color have experienced during their K12 education and how these experiences affected their drive to become a teacher. The findings confirm that resolving the… [PDF]
(2019). Reconstituting Youth Space in New Mexico: The Space Youth Occupy. Education Policy. Clarity. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, v13 n3 p139-169. Because of the funding decisions being made in New Mexico related to public education, working as an educator has become physically, psychically, and spiritually demanding for the lead author, Trujillo Ellis. The lead author seeks clarity in understanding New Mexico youth space, or the conditions of New Mexico youths' lives, that better equips her, as a reflective practitioner, to "make decisions about teaching and learning based upon moral and political implications" (Olan, 2019, p. 173). New Mexican youth space is contextualized in terms of demographics, outcomes related to well-being, the fiscal landscape of the state, and the policies that govern public education. The lead author utilizes the first four tenets of critical race theory (CRT): 1) Racism is normal, 2) Interest convergence or material determinism, 3) Social construction of race, and 4) Intersectionality and anti-essentialism to support reflection and analysis of her experiences as an educator and… [Direct]
(2023). Activism's Influence on the Psychological and Academic Outcomes of Race-Related Stressors among Black College Students. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Binghamton. Background: Black students attending PWIs experience multiple forms of race-related stressors which can result in psychological distress and academic disengagement. Many Black collegians respond to these race-related stressors by participating in campus activism to bring attention to their experiences and demand justice and institutional change. Some research has linked Black student activism to psychological distress and academic disengagement. Purpose: Given the upsurge in Black student activism since 2015 and the need to expand research on its effects on students, the study aimed to discover if activism would enhance the impact race-related stressors have on psychological distress and academic disengagement. Thus, the study examined how activism moderated the relationships between race-related stressors and psychological distress (Model 1) and race-related stressors and academic disengagement (Model 2) among Black college students. Methods: UCLA's Higher Education Research… [Direct]
(2014). Addressing Racial Awareness and Color-Blindness in Higher Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, n140 p31-44 Win. Racial awareness is a critical foundation to racial sensitivity, and it is a necessity for future professionals who want to be prepared to succeed in an increasingly diverse society. Several factors have been shown to influence racial awareness in professionals including their own race, their personal experience with racism, and the amount/quality of training they receive on the topic of race. Institutions of higher education that pride themselves on preparing students to work in a global and diverse market should make a purposeful effort to teach students how to address issues related to race and racism. This chapter offers recommendations for how to transform traditional programs into programs with a focus on antiracism using a Critical Race Theory paradigm. For example, curricula should be designed to challenge students to focus on their personal experiences of racism and racial identity rather than simply studying others'. Student resistance can be minimized by recruiting… [Direct]
(2019). Legacies of Christian Languaging and Literacies in American Education: Perspectives on English Language Arts Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning. Routledge Research in Education. Routledge Research in Education Because spiritual life and religious participation are widespread human and cultural phenomena, these experiences unsurprisingly find their way into English language arts curriculum, learning, teaching, and teacher education work. Yet many public school literacy teachers and secondary teacher educators feel unsure how to engage religious and spiritual topics and responses in their classrooms. This volume responds to this challenge with an in-depth exploration of diverse experiences and perspectives on Christianity within American education. Authors not only examine how Christianity — the historically dominant religion in American society — shapes languaging and literacies in schooling and other educational spaces, but they also imagine how these relations might be reconfigured. From curricula to classroom practice, from narratives of teacher education to youth coming-to-faith, chapters vivify how spiritual lives, beliefs, practices, communities, and religious traditions interact… [Direct]
(2020). Black, Brown, Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation. Harvard Education Press Drawing on narratives from hundreds of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous individuals, Ebony Omotola McGee examines the experiences of underrepresented racially minoritized students and faculty members who have succeeded in STEM. Based on this extensive research, McGee advocates for structural and institutional changes to address racial discrimination, stereotyping, and hostile environments in an effort to make the field more inclusive. "Black, Brown, Bruised" reveals the challenges that underrepresented racially minoritized students confront in order to succeed in these exclusive, usually all-White, academic and professional realms. The book provides searing accounts of racism inscribed on campus, in the lab, and on the job, and portrays learning and work environments as arenas rife with racial stereotyping, conscious and unconscious bias, and micro-aggressions. As a result, many students experience the effects of a racial battle fatigue–physical and mental exhaustion borne of… [Direct]
(2019). Literacy Teaching in Disadvantaged South African Schools. Literacy, v53 n4 p245-253 Nov. This article analyses the experiences of teachers of literacy working in underprivileged communities in the Western Cape, South Africa. The purpose is to provide teachers in poorly resourced schools within economically deprived areas an opportunity to voice their experiences of teaching literacy. The article is based on an empirical study using interviews and classroom observation with a sample of 10 teachers. A descriptive account of the observation data was followed by an interpretive analysis. The content analysis of the interview data led to the development of themes and patterns for the discussion. The study reveals the social complexity of literacy education in a post-apartheid and multilingual society and focuses on teachers in Grade 4 classrooms, which is the grade when learners switch from mother tongue (mainly isiXhosa and Afrikaans) to English as language of instruction. Key factors for literacy underachievement include lack of resources, parental support, lack of teacher… [Direct]
(2018). Decolonizing School Systems: Racial Justice, Radical Healing, and Educational Equity inside Oakland Unified School District. Voices in Urban Education, n48 p7-12. Educational spaces, like the rest of the nation's current policy arenas, have become a contentious terrain where ideological and political battles are fought and particular futures won. This article is written in the aftermath of the atrocity at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, in August 2017, where racism, racial rage, hate, violence, and death took center stage during a white supremacist rally at an institution of higher education. A month later, motions were set into play to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program–impacting the legal rights of children of immigrants to attend school. Oakland is also a battlefield. The innovative work of the Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA) in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is part of a larger legacy to reimagine schooling as powerfully inclusive and unapologetically democratic. In this article, the authors offer a racial justice paradigm for other school systems struggling to move… [PDF]
(2024). The Impact of Asian Cultural Values on the Leadership Preferences of Asian American K-12 Principals. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Notre Dame of Maryland University. The enrollment of students in the United States public school system is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. According to research, students of color benefit from having teachers and leaders who look like them as role models and the classroom dynamics that diversity creates. However, the ethnic and racial diversity of teachers and leaders in education does not reflect this changing landscape. Specifically, there is a disparity in the percentage of Asian American principals compared to Asian American students. Previous literature attributes the lack of a significant presence of Asian Americans in educational leadership positions to stereotypes and racism, citing an alleged lack of leadership qualities due to cultural differences. The lack of understanding of the nuances of both Asian and American cultures and the acceptance of these stereotypes can negatively impact the perception of Asian Americans, which can potentially contribute to the underrepresentation of K-12 Asian… [Direct]
(2019). "Let the People Rap": Cultural Rhetorics Pedagogy and Practices under CUNY's Open Admissions, 1968-1978. Journal of Basic Writing, v38 n2 p106-143. This article writes the histories of CUNY Open Admissions and hiphop toward each other, illuminating both. Bringing Open Admissions to bear on hiphop history helps us see that, while historians locate the birth of hiphop culture in a 1970s New York gutted by divestment and displacement, in fact the decade before hiphop's birth was characterized by a flourishing Black and Puerto Rican arts scene in New York and the radical education of tens of thousands of students of color in the CUNY system. Revisiting the archives of Open Admissions with a hiphop lens draws attention to the cultural rhetorics education being taught in remedial writing classrooms by adjunct lecturers like June Jordan, Adrienne Rich, and others, who drew students' attention and inquiry to their own communities and language practices. Looking at a selection of documents chosen for their use of the term "rappin," including teachers' reflective writing, administrative documents, and community writing, this… [PDF]
(2024). Factors Influencing Latinos to Pursue Chief Diversity Officer Positions in Higher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Texas A&M University – Commerce. In the last 2 decades, there has been an increase in the number of higher education institutions (HEI) establishing Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) positions to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) gaps and priorities. CDOs play an increasingly significant role in developing, evaluating, and advocating for policies and practices at postsecondary institutions. At the same time, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Latinos enrolling and graduating from HEIs. Latinos represent a very small portion of the CDOs appointed across the country. In this qualitative study, I examined the experiences and circumstances that influenced seven Latino CDOs at universities to pursue their DEI positions by applying Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory of human development, critical race theory, and Latino critical race theory. I also assessed if involvement in mentoring and leadership programs influenced their pursuit of these appointments. Utilizing data collected from a… [Direct]